After the Fight
by Livyloozer
Summary: This is my first of what I call "What if fics". It's my idea of what could happen after the fight in "Helga vs. Big Patty".
1. At War with His Thoughts

**A/N: Hi peoples! Welcome to my first official fanfic! If you are reading this that means that I finished the first chapter. Woohoo! Yay me! Of course, I'll be excited if I actually finish it! I couldn't finish my first fic but this one is a lot shorter so there's a better chance of me completing it! Anyways, this fanfic is part of a little series I came up with called "What if…fics" haha. It won't be an actual series, well not really. It's more so a series in my own mind. Haha. Anyways, my idea for these "What if…" stories is actually what a lot of other fanfiction writers did. But anyways, I'm going to take some of the HA! episodes and write them as if I'm answering my own question: "What if blah blah blah happened?" You get the idea. Sometimes I'll be writing a change I thought of that would take place within the episode and other times I'll be writing about a "behind the scenes" idea lol. **

**This particular fanfic started out as a one-shot but I decided to drag it out, mainly because I will only be able to do a little bit at a time and so breaking it down will be easier for me! My first story might be a little weird to some people but I have had this idea for a while and really wanted to write it! This is my creation of the aftermath of the second half of the 4****th**** episode in season 3 – "Helga vs. Big Patty". I won't divulge all the details now but basically Arnold goes to check on Helga after Patty supposedly "beat her up" even though he knows that it was all a ploy that Helga went along with so Patty could uphold her bully reputation, because let's be honest Helga knows a thing or 2 about trying to maintain that! Now when I thought of this, I wondered why I would think of Arnold doing such a thing and then it hit me: "Maybe he has a small crush on Helga". Now don't call me out and say I don't know what I'm talking about because it could happen, especially in this particular season, which I explain during this story but I will say that the timing is also right. Even though this is before FTi, this is also before "Arnold &amp; Lila", which didn't happen until the 13****th**** episode of the same season. Look peoples, these kids may be mature and stuff for their age but they are still kids! They're going to have crushes and then change their minds, except for Helga but she has her reasons which I will not go into because that can take a while! Anyways, sorry for this long tirade! Hope you enjoy! :D**

**UPDATE: I'm so sorry I forgot..."HEY ARNOLD!" IS NOT MINE BECAUSE I'M NOT CRAIG BARTLETT, VIACOM, NICKELODEON, OR ANYBODY ELSE FOR THAT MATTER BUT MYSELF!**

After the Fight

Chapter 1: At War with His Thoughts

'Man, what a day!' Arnold pondered thoughtfully to himself as he was lying on his bed with both of his arms resting comfortably behind his football-shaped head.

'First, I can't believe I got Helga to apologize to Patty!' He then chuckled lightly to himself as that thought came into his mind, but then it quickly went away as an eye roll suddenly appeared.

'Nah, it's really not that much of a surprise. I know she's a nice person. She just doesn't want to show it to anybody,' a sigh soon followed that thought, because Arnold knew why Helga was so guarded.

'She's that way so she won't get hurt. It's bad enough that her family doesn't care, which probably hurts her every day so she must have figured that acting so tough will keep everyone at school from hurting her too,'. This thought brought on another sigh. To Arnold, that idea made perfect sense. It actually worked quite well for Helga but the plan had one huge flaw.

Arnold clamped his eyes shut as the next thought threatened to come into his mind. He pushed it back for a little while, at least a few weeks now, but this time it came out without warning.

'She's also shutting out those who care about her in the process…like me,' As soon as that thought escaped, Arnold's eyes flew open, widening like dinner plates. He then shook his head a little and shrugged his shoulders, in realization that until he let himself trail off like that he was thinking mostly about Phoebe, Helga's best friend and how she was always so rude to the small and studious girl. But even if Arnold didn't finish that thought like he did, he knew that that was only half of the truth. He knew he cared about her too. He sighed yet again when he actually admitted it.

'Yeah, but what good does that do? She doesn't really care. And I won't know unless she opens up,' He had to stop thinking about this. 'What good would it do anyways?' He was beginning to sound more hopeless and he didn't like it.

Once again, Arnold brought his daydreams to a halt and redirected his thoughts back to the day's events. He had to keep doing that if he was ever going to continue thinking about the bright side of things. After all, it was much better alternative compared to letting his negative thoughts take over, in which he would just be in a constant state of depression and he definitely did not want that to happen!

'And then Patty was still going to beat her up…her apology probably was half-hearted at the most. Why can't she ever be herself? Ugg…I'm getting off topic again…Even if I didn't like her, I would have still convinced Patty that the fact that she was still planning on beating Helga up was wrong,'

Arnold then thought about the alleged "fight" and shook his head slightly as a small grin appeared on his face. 'And when Patty dragged Helga into the gym like that, I thought that was it for Helga. I thought Patty didn't even listen to me…but then that wink she gave me afterwards was what made me realize that it was all an act. Looking back, I wonder what Patty did to get all those sound effects that created the illusion that she was beating Helga up. It was all pretty convincing! Especially when Helga limped outside while clutching her gut and groaning like she did. She was actually a pretty good actress!' he ended that thought with a dreamy sigh and then stopped himself.

'I have to stop doing that! Why can't I see that maybe she's not that good as I think she is deep dow-' Arnold tried to finish that thought but he couldn't. It would be a lie and he knew it. At that moment, Arnold wondered if there was someone out there who was an even bigger basket case than him right now. 'Probably not,' he thought with another sigh.

**A/N: Well, chapter 1 is done! Stay tuned for chapter 2, which I'm going to be honest it will take a little while! You probably guessed that chapter 2 will feature Helga's thoughts and that means I got to summon my lovesick monologue skills, which I'm not even sure if I have any! But stay tuned. I'll get this done as soon as I can!**


	2. Be Still Her Beating Heart

**A/N: First off, I apologize for the delay in getting this chapter out. I didn't give a date but I still feel bad it took me a while. My reason is partly because of school and the other half is due to me being unsure of how I was going to write this chapter! Actually I'm sort of taking an unplanned personal day and if it wasn't for that I don't know when I'd get this chapter up! What is funny is that the third chapter is nearly finished and that was because it was easier for me to write than the second chapter. Anyways, in my defense, I did say this chapter could take a while because of my monologue skills probably being nowhere near the caliber that Helga's skills are at. I mean, how could I even do them justice? I'm not worthy! Haha. Writing the second chapter felt more like pulling teeth. Not really but I kind of wish that were true and then maybe the anesthesia would make me so loopy I'd be spouting off eloquent lovesick verses left and right…hahaha. Ignore my lame "Helga Blabs it All" reference! If you got that reference, yay for you! You are definitely a fan! ;)**

**Well, enough of my lame excuses. Read onward! **

**Oh, and by the way….I AM NOT CRAIG BARTLETT AND HAVE NO AFFILIATIONS WITH NICKELODEON, THEREFORE "HEY ARNOLD!" IS NOT MINE, CAPICHE? **

Chapter 2: Be Still Her Beating Heart

"There's probably no one out there who's a bigger basket case than me!" Helga G. Pataki threw her hands in the air in feigned exclamation as she let that thought come out of her mouth and into the open. She was finally home, all cleaned up, and currently back in the privacy of her own room after a pretty crazy day at school that just did her in due to the strange turn of events. After being mean and dumb enough to make fun of the toughest girl in P.S. 118, that very same girl found out about it and promised to beat Helga up the next day. The twist did not occur until that day when the fight took place, which had now already happened. Earlier today, Helga apologized to the other girl, Patty, but she did not back down on her promise because she had her reputation to consider. Plus, Patty didn't really buy Helga's apology, which Helga did not find that out until right after the fight, well if what happened can even be called a fight at all, that is. It wasn't until Patty dragged Helga into the vacant gym after school let out when Helga figured out that Patty was not going to beat her into a pulp after all. Patty suddenly had a change of heart and decided to stage the fight so her own reputation would remain untarnished without the price of Helga getting hurt.

A sane person would probably be perplexed as to why Helga wouldn't do anything different if she had the chance to relive those two days all over again. Some would probably assume that Helga learned nothing from this. But that wasn't true at all.

"I really shouldn't do that. I definitely know how that feels…I just started freaking out in my mind because they were all talking about her and him…hmm…at least this whole thing has shown me that Patty and I could maybe be friends…maybe…" Helga started to drift off in thought, but more so about something else that was brought back up thanks to her recalling of the day's events. Once again, Helga thought of the reason why Patty suddenly decided not to beat up Helga. That reason was a person and to Helga it was as if they were the reason of her existence. That person was none other than Arnold, the love of Helga's life, a secret that she would take to her grave if she had to!

"I still can't believe he did that for me! He definitely didn't have to, but he did anyway. He just never stops doing what is right and I love him for it!" Helga gave a soft sigh and a dreamy look suddenly appeared on her face.

"And he is so perceptive! He knows I'm hiding something. He doesn't push but I know he wishes I'd let my guard down. Oh my love, if only it were that simple. I mean, how can I give you what you want when it will only cause me to lose you forever? I guess that I'm more selfish than you in that sense, my love…well doi, I knew that already…" This time, the sigh Helga made was a little sadder, but she immediately shook herself out of those feelings before they had a chance to fester and grow. She was so confused about all this but she was determined to stay hopeful. She was tired of being depressed.

"But maybe, just maybe there is hope for me yet! Oh criminy, I am so hopeless!" She exclaimed exasperatingly, but rather gleefully, all things considered, as she sighed rather lovesickly and let her mind soar into the same old fantasies that she now believed were a little closer to becoming a reality. She didn't dare let those daydreams turn into horror stories like they have in the past as she unknowingly allowed thoughts about not being good enough creep into her mind and fog up her fantasy world.

...

"It's hopeless!" Arnold exclaimed, while releasing a sigh in defeat.

'I just thought of that as sort of a joke and now I can't get the idea out of my head! I don't even see why. I'd basically be providing her with ammunition. I mean, when school is over for the day you're supposed to get far away from the class bully, not closer to them, right?' Arnold immediately shook his head at that last thought because he knew it wasn't like that. He didn't really see Helga that way. In fact, he wasn't very scared of her, and she had an opposite effect on him anyways.

Suddenly, another thought occurred to young Arnold.

'This is not the first time I have had a crush. And I may have avoided Ruth back then but it was different…but I'm not scared of Helga…that's not it…' Arnold's eyes squinted in concentration as he tried to get closer to some "ah-ha moment" or whatever. A few more moments passed and then it hit him.

'Ruth is a sixth grader, meaning that if it didn't work out it'd be really easy to go our separate ways. And it actually didn't work out because I later realized how shallow she was. But things are much different now. Helga and I are in the same class. If she shot me down, it'd be weird…no, that's not the right word. It would almost be unbearable. Almost. And that's the second reason why this crush is different than the only other one I have had. What I feel for Helga is stronger. Sure, she's rough around the edges but I meant what I said to Patty earlier today, that Helga's not so bad, and that I'm pretty sure it's all a front to protect her from something that goes deeper than any bullying persona. All I knew about Ruth, and all I really cared about for that matter, was her beauty. That and that memory of her giving up her bus seat to a lady with a watermelon. That was one time, though. But with Helga…the few moments I've seen her good side were moments I'll always treasure, like when she rooted through garbage just to find my hat or even when she convinced her dad to pay for the materials needed to help make my parade float idea into a reality and then intervened when he tried to take credit for it…' Arnold's head was back in the clouds as he made a soft little sigh.

The moment was short-lived though, when he shook himself out of his daydreams to allow his dense football-shape head to come to the realization that there was something that those memories had in common.

'Hmm…come to think of it, the few times that Helga was actually nice all had something to do with me…but how is that possible? Could there be more instances and I didn't notice them because they were for some other person?' Arnold tried searching through his memories to find an example like that but came up short.

'Unless…' His mind wandered off as it began working the kinks out of another possible conclusion.

"Oh…my – can it be true?!" Arnold outwardly exclaimed and shot right up into a sitting position on his bed as he had yet another epiphany.

'It must be,' he thought. 'Or I at least hope it's true. It sure does seem possible…Oh why not? There definitely seems to be more hope on my side now anyways,' Arnold reasoned with himself as he finally made up his mind to get up and leave his bedroom.

'It's worth a shot,' Arnold thought as he practically zipped down the stairs, went out the front door, and found himself setting out on his little quest.

...

_"Nothing has really changed_

_I know not of your feelings_

_Except maybe annoyance and perhaps_

_A hint of tolerance_

_And yet why do I still feel so hopeful?_

_So light, so free, so jubilant and wonderful?_

_Maybe I'm thinking too much of it_

_You may have just acted on your constant desire_

_To help someone in need_

_Because of the wonderful saint you are, my love_

_And this time the one in need was me_

_Or maybe, dare I think it, but I may be right to think_

_That it was something more than that_

_Something more that might be surfacing_

_And yes, nothing would bring me greater joy_

_Than discovering that love was that something_

_But even if it is not_

_Even if it is something smaller, much smaller_

_That is still something, right?_

_And oh my flaxen haired angel_

_When you finally realize it_

_And when you find the courage to tell me_

_I promise, my love, no harm will I cause towards you_

_But instead I will approach you with open arms_

_Oh my love, if only you would not wait a moment longer_

_And realize these great truths and then make haste_

_And I would let myself come out of hiding_

_For you and only you, my darling_

_I will be who I really am_

_The next chance I get_

_Ah alas, it is such a silly fantasy_

_For I'd forget and would just be nasty _

_The next chance I got instead_

_Oh if only those feelings were true_

_And that you would act on them today_

_And I promise, my love, you would find_

_The true me free of any edges_

_Because the notion would be so fresh on my mind."_

"There, perfect!" Helga beamed as she finished up her latest poetic masterpiece. She was about to get started on yet another one when the loud chime of the doorbell broke her from her routine.

'3-2-1,' She counted down in her mind and sure enough…

"Olga! Get that will ya?! I'm trying to watch the wheel over here!" Helga's father's voice boomed in an annoyed tone.

'It never fails,' Helga thought, while shaking her head with a face currently holding an expression that was halfway amused and the other half annoyed. With a sigh, Helga closed her pink book, which was only the current one out of the many volumes she had already filled up with poems about Arnold, and put it back in its hiding place. She then decided to give Bob an answer before he'd decide to yell the same request again.

"Yeah, _Bob_ I got it!" She answered kind of harshly as she left her room and was heading towards the stairs. Helga didn't even feel like correcting him about her name. She knew it'd be in vain anyways. She didn't even know why she bothered to sometimes still correct him. Helga suddenly shook those thoughts away before she could ponder on it any further, though. She honestly didn't want to think about her parents right now. She just wanted to answer the door, tell whoever was there to get lost, and then go right back to her writing. She had so much inspiration from today's events that she just wanted to get it all out as soon as possible.

'Is that too much to ask?' Helga thought to herself in slight annoyance. She mulled that over for a brief second as she reached the bottom of the steps and was walking down the entryway that led to the front door.

'Maybe it is…' She now had her hand on the door handle. Helga's thoughts were starting to drift off again, but more so due to a sudden wave of exhaustion brought on by all that happened earlier today.

Helga really couldn't handle any more surprises at this point. It was an interesting day but her nerves were pretty shot from all the excitement. When she opened the door though, she suddenly perked up and any desire of getting back to her poetry had suddenly vanished.

'I'll definitely make an exception for this surprise,' Helga thought as she tried to conceal the grin and girlish sigh threatening to come out.

'Oh, be still my beating heart!' she silently swooned.

**A/N: I guess you know who's at the door! By the way, I made up that poem on the spot and yeah that's basically how I write poetry: like one big run-on sentence with random rhyming tendencies! I know it's not the greatest. I'm better at writing songs than I am with poetry and believe me there is a WORLD of difference…well I guess not much but songs are not as wordy and lines repeat and there's just random vocalizations and I can go on but I won't!**

**There's more to come…stay tuned!**


	3. Thoughts Meet Heartbeats

**A/N: This is the final chapter. Are ya ready? I got nothing else to say here. Happy reading and I'll see ya at the end where I definitely have some explaining to do! You'll see…**

**"HEY ARNOLD!" IS NOT MINE. I'M JUST A FAN. THE STORY IS MY CREATION BASED ON THE SERIES BUT NOTHING MORE!**

Chapter 3: Thoughts Meet Heartbeats

Helga blinked and shook her head, as if she were shaking herself free from her lovesick thoughts and then plastered on a look of dull surprise and slight annoyance.

"Football Head?"

"Um…hi, Helga," Arnold greeted as he sheepishly placed one hand behind his head and nervously scratched it.

Helga put her hands on her hips. "What in the heck are you doing here?"

Arnold's gaze kept averting downwards as he was trying to find the right words to properly get his point across, but the words were not to be found. Helga started tapping her foot to express her growing impatience and that was not helping the situation one bit.

Realizing that this conversation might take a while, Helga emerged fully out of her house and closed the door behind her while Arnold was still trying to formulate his response.

The amount of time Arnold was taking to respond seemed like an eternity to Helga, when it was probably only a minute at the most. But regardless, Helga didn't feel like she would be able to last any longer just silently waiting for Arnold before she would intervene by actually shaking him and getting him better acquainted with 'Ol Betsy and the Five Avengers.

'Though I'd never really do that,' Helga gave an inaudible sigh that was partly one of love and one of annoyance as well. 'He is the only thing keeping me here on this earth while slowly killing me in the process. Oh my beloved, just spit it out and I will vow to the universe that I won't chastise you too harshly. Please, whatever it is, just tell me. I can't take much more of your nervousness when I do not know the true source of your conflicted state…Oh my love, oh how you torture me without even trying...'

Suddenly finding herself with newfound inspiration right in front of her, the words now written in Helga's mind were coming in at breakneck speeds. She was seriously about to go into a full-on internal monologue mode when her ears perked up to the sound of one's throat being cleared, which immediately caused her poetic thoughts to end as quickly as they began.

Keeping his gaze permanently locked to the ground, Arnold gave his response, using the words he was finally able to find and piece together as articulately as possible. The problem though, was that when he spoke, he was not as articulate as he thought he would be. He was more nervous than he thought for one thing. Plus, he had to hide his face from her because he couldn't seem to lose the nervous grin, since what he planned to say was only half true.

'She doesn't need to know the whole truth now, and I am just not ready to get that out in the open yet anyways. If I show my face I'll immediately give it all away. I have never been a good liar, which is a good thing and I feel bad that I'm kind of deceiving her a little but…no I'm not. Not really. I will tell her everything. Just not now but at some point...when I fully know what's going on myself…' Arnold trailed out of that last thought as he began what he planned to say to Helga.

"Uh…I knew Patty was still going to beat you up…but…I didn't think it would be that brutal—uh well you know I didn't see it…but from the sound of it…and you looked so much in pain…so…I wanted to see if you were ok," After finally finishing, Arnold slowly shook his head while still staring downward.

'That was terrible! Why am I so nervous?' Arnold asked himself but mostly in vain. He already knew the answer.

Meanwhile, Helga was currently spouting off questions of her own left and right as they were bouncing off the crevices of her own mind, all while she was trying to register what he just said.

'Wh—What?...What?! He is checking up on me? Who put him up to this…no, nobody I guess…He seems pretty sincere…but why all the nervousness? Wait…could he- could he really be…having feelings...for...?'

On the outside, Helga looked rather composed as she took in all that was before her. There was even a slightly amused smirk on her face. Inside however, Helga was doing everything in her power to not faint right then and there. Again, there was no way that Helga was going to let her thoughts go in that direction.

Instead of melting into a puddle right then and there, Helga shook herself out of yet another internal battle and began to formulate her response, the kind of response she had tricked practically the whole world into believing was one that Helga G. Pataki would say, the "real" Helga, even though it was all a lie and was just what she wanted everyone to think. But Helga's bullying façade had one huge flaw: she worked so hard for so long to convince others of her rudeness and tough attitude that that persona had now become a part of her, one that she could not shake even during those times when she really wanted to, those lost opportunities she had to get closer to the person that basically caused her to put up that wall to begin with, though it had more so to do with her desire to not give others the chance to hurt her. Helga was unaware of the full repercussions of her lifelong scheme though, because she had no clue that she was hurting herself more than anyone else. Once more, Helga could not see that the one thing she was desperately trying to hide the most was driving away the source of her secret. Helga thought she was strong for hiding everything from the rest of the world, but in reality she was nothing but a coward who was just driving herself crazy with all the scheming, conniving, plotting, dreaming, writing, stalking, and damage controlling she constantly found herself immersed in on a daily basis. Helga needed to show who she really was: the blistery and the smooth, the tough and the timid, the beautiful disaster. If she finally found the courage to do so then yes, she would be allowing her walls to crumble, which would allow herself to be out in the open with nothing to protect her from the judgement and taunting of those around her. That was true enough and that was exactly why Helga kept those walls up; once again thinking she was being strong by doing so. But what Helga failed to realize however, was that if she let her guard down then she would also be allowing something else to come in, something far stronger than teasing: love. But Helga was completely oblivious to what was practically plainly displayed right in front of her because she was too wrapped up in her own assumptions. Therefore, she prepared a typical "Helga G. Pataki Response" like she would have done for any other day.

"Um…Arnold, I hate to break it to you but Patty told me you convinced her not to pound me so I am pretty sure that you know it was all a hoax. Plus, why else do you think I'm not worried that you can plainly see that I am not hurt?," she retorted back matter-of-factly as she held her arms out as if modeling the fact that she was perfectly fine while flexing one side of her unibrow in a knowing way.

"Oh…," Arnold was at a loss for words. 'Man, I really am dense sometimes,' he thought to himself. 'How did I not realize that Helga would want to know what changed Patty's mind, in which Patty would have more than likely answered? And why not? I don't blame Patty. It's not like she knows how I feel. No one really does…'

'Oh for Pete's sake! Not again!' Helga thought in both amusement and annoyance as her beloved was deeply immersed in his own thoughts once again. At that point, Helga's patience was wearing thin and therefore she decided that she was not going to wait around for him to snap out of it.

"Earth to Arnoldo!"

"Huh?" Suddenly, a hand snapped Arnold's attention back into place as it was briskly waving up and down in front of his face.

"Criminy, you have your head in the clouds a lot…" She observed as she trailed off. Arnold was about to answer in protest but he knew she was right. He was about to say something else but that double-take he made with his thoughts slowed him down, allowing enough time for Helga to gather the courage to finish what she was saying.

"Must be nice," Helga finished kind of quietly, almost inaudibly, so much so that after Arnold realized that Helga wasn't finished he had to really focus, even leaning in a little bit just so he could hear her. His eyes were kind of strained in concentration but as soon as what she said registered with his brain, his eyes widened rather abruptly. He couldn't believe what he just heard.

'Is she opening up to me?' He asked himself in his head. He suddenly felt kind of hopeful, and unbeknownst to him, the expression on his face was starting to betray those same feelings.

Meanwhile, Helga, who turned her head away as soon as she ended her little semi-confession, did not know what was going on with Arnold at that moment because she was currently at war with her own thoughts.

'I can't believe I told him that! I mean, yeah, it was true but he must now think I'm nuts…wait...I was pretty quiet. Hopefully he didn't even hear me…I wonder…'

To satisfy her curiosity, Helga slowly turned around and soon got the answer to her unspoken question. Arnold was once again swept away by his own daydreams, but it was much different this time. This time, Arnold did not appear as if he were having an argument with himself, a look that Helga knew fairly well because she had those moments all the time. Instead, his expression and mood was the exact opposite: calm, relaxed, and happy.

'No, happy is not good enough,' Helga correct in her mind. 'That look is something stronger than happiness…dreamy maybe?' Helga continued to contemplate a good name for that look. She knew she had seen it before but couldn't place it.

'No way!' Helga thought in exclamation as her eyes bulged out in realization, though Arnold was totally oblivious to all of this.

'I can't believe I didn't see it sooner! The signs are all there: those half-lidded eyes, the slightly hunched posture, that goofy grin. I know that look anywhere, though they look more pronounced than I remembered…but I thought he was over Ruth. Why is he suddenly thinking of her anyways?' Helga wondered glumly as she shook her head in defeat. Once again, she briefly entertained the notion that he had that look because of her, but then she quickly made that thought leave as quickly as it had entered her mind in the first place.

'Yeah right!' she scoffed and rolled her eyes, 'Stupid girl fantasies! Like he will ever feel that way for me…but then again he did come to 'check on me' and he looked rather nervous and…no! I will not do this to myself again!' Helga forced those hopeful thoughts back down into her subconscious, unaware of how spot on she truly was!

'Why must I get my hopes up like this when all it ever does is crush my spirit?' Helga pondered over that a little bit. 'Because, it's better than not having any hope at all,' she thought, answering her own question. 'With that said though, I am all out of hope for one day. I need to get out of here. Until tomorrow, my beloved, when my hopes will be crushed yet again due to my blustery exterior, but at least I'll have hope anew…that's right, Helga 'ol girl, you may feel down now but you always bounce back!'

Helga turned to her stoop and started walking up the steps to get back into her house when a flash of pink finally got Arnold out of his lovesick gaze. A look of confusion now replaced it when Arnold wondered why Helga was going back into her house.

'What did I miss?' Arnold tried to remember anything else Helga said or did between her brief moment of opening up to him and now but all that came to his mind was what he was just thinking about. That was when it hit him. He realized that though Helga had no idea what he was thinking, his expression was probably quite readable.

'What have I done?!' He chastised himself as the word 'stupid' kept flashing in his mind.

'I probably scared her or at the very least weirded her out…Well, at least I know what she thinks,' he thought as he sighed in defeat and began to walk home as the hollow sound of Helga's front door closing behind him echoed on and on his mind. Arnold never thought that the sound of a door closing could sound so lonely, but now he was suddenly convinced that the sound of that particular door closing was one of the loneliest sounds that he had ever heard.

THE END

**A/N: Yes, this is the end! I know a lot of you probably hate me right now! Sorry! Life doesn't have a happy ending and they are only kids! Just saying…but anyways, I have a surprise coming up soon that will hopefully make you feel loads better about this! Till then, please keep the death threats to a minimum. By the way, I kind of wanted Arnold to get a taste of what it feels like to be rejected, properly rejected by the true love of his life! Even though the true reason Helga just left was all because of one big misunderstanding, I still wanted to try out that concept in this chapter. Also, remember that part in Helga's little semi-monologue where Helga mentioned that Arnold was keeping her here while slowly killing her? Well the whole thing I made up on the spot but that one little part is the ending of a poem I actually wrote a few years ago, but I wrote that about an ex! I thought it seemed fitting though!**

**And one more thing, maybe you haven't noticed but I have been randomly updating pretty much every chapter because I am just now noticing I have left words out in certain places...silly me...so yeah, just cleaning up my mistakes, don't mind me. Hahaha. **

**Anyways, I'm outa here. Til next time peoples, this is Livyloozer signing off. **


	4. On Second Thought

**A/N: If you haven't figured it out, my surprise to you is an alternate ending…or technically, it is closer to the real ending. If you have figured it out, well I guess there's no fooling you! Just kidding! ;) I seriously wasn't trying to fool anyone. This honestly started out just being a 3 chapter story but then I had some new ideas randomly surface and now here we are! Enjoy!**

**Oh and one more thing: "HEY ARNOLD!" IS NOT MINE! I JUST LIKE TO WRITE ABOUT CHARACTERS FROM THE SHOW BUT I DON'T OWN THE SHOW. OK? COOL. JUST THOUGHT I'D CLEAR THAT UP! ;)**

Chapter 4: On Second Thought

In his head, Arnold played out exactly what would happen if he just gave up and went home: chalking off the sound of the door closing as the loneliest sound, him probably having a very fitful sleep as he would fall prey yet again to the same old dreams, and then the conflicted emotions rushing through him as soon as he saw her at school the next day that would more than likely get much worse…All those predictions collided and morphed together in Arnold's mind in a flash and that was when he realized that he wanted none of that. As a result of that realization, he shook his head violently, causing an end to the brief shame spiral he created.

'Maybe it doesn't have to end that way…And maybe I'm wrong…I need to know for sure…am I bold enough like Gerald always says I am? Only one way to find out…' The gears in his head began turning as Arnold was facing the house again, the new plan still forming as he was carrying out his actions.

"Helga, wait," he spoke, both firmly and shakily. It was such a strange combination. Arnold was sure about what he was doing but honestly didn't know how Helga would react and as much as Arnold didn't want to admit it that scared him. He wasn't scared that she would beat him up, though that probably would be a given. Then again, Arnold had noticed for a little while that Helga was pretty much harmless and it seemed that her threats, mainly the ones made towards him in particular, were usually quite empty. Regardless, Arnold was mostly afraid of the possibility that what he was about to do would cause him to lose Helga forever. 'What if I'm wrong? What if that smile and the way she hid herself when she blushed had to do with something else…' Helga herself didn't even realize that she briefly betrayed her own emotions in the form of blushing. And even though she tried real hard to make sure she stopped the goofy smile before Arnold saw, he still noticed.

Anyways, Arnold, who started out feeling quite sure of himself, suddenly let that new thought freeze him in his tracks. At this point, Helga had already turned around and was confused with what she saw in front of her.

'What is his deal today? At first he sounded more confident than he has the entire time he's been here and now he looks like he's arguing with himself again. He's usually not this unsure and confusing unless he's…unless he's…wait…what?!' Helga's eyes bulged out, though not to Arnold's knowledge, who was still duking it out with his mind. The sudden conclusion her thought process brought her to nearly gave her an aneurism.

'There is no freaking way he likes me…but the signs are all there…no! I don't care! I will not set myself up for disappointment if I'm wrong! Well why not…wait, what?!' It seems that a part of Helga's mind was trying to reason with the other.

'Well, what do you got to lose?' Helga pondered over the question that was posed by her hopeless romantic side, while the reasonable and mostly cynical side was formulating a response.

'Everything…and nothing,' the cynical side retorted back. Helga was now finding herself more confused than before. She suddenly heaved a deep sigh, forcing the back-and-forth debate between her two sides to come to an abrupt halt. Arnold was still stuck in his thoughts, but it didn't matter. Helga now knew what her next move was going to be.

'I don't even care anymore…After all, isn't this basically how I ended my latest poetic creation? '_I will approach you with open…_' Helga let that lost thought drift off as she slowly walked down the steps of her stoop to where she was now facing a frozen and troubled looking Arnold, who didn't even notice that the spot of pink in front of him was growing larger for some reason. But Arnold had more important things to notice, like why his thoughts were suddenly interrupted.

Arnold immediately found the culprit: Helga. And it was Helga's arms that Arnold felt wrapped around him in a tight embrace.

Though she couldn't see his face, Helga could tell that Arnold was still at war with his thoughts. Now what Helga did next can only be explained by the true courage she only felt when she was around her beloved and felt as if it would be ok, which was rarely experienced, but this was definitely one of those moments.

"You think too much," Helga snickered softly and all-knowingly in Arnold's ear.

Arnold's eyes widened at that. 'How did she know? Hmm…who cares…she's Helga, that's how. And she's right!' Arnold sighed softly as he made up his mind to stop listening to his mind, for just that moment at least!

Helga gasped softly as she felt Arnold's arms around her waist. She leaned in and held on a little tighter, which was all done as a result of pure instinct. Unknowingly, Arnold gave a soft sigh through his nose in response to Helga's tightened grip. In turn, Helga took that sigh as a license to keep holding on and sigh deeper.

The two kids stayed like that for what seemed like an eternity, but to them it was not long enough. In reality, the embrace might have gone on for just a few minutes. The two of them didn't even care that they were hugging out in the open like that, even though there didn't seem to be anyone around. However, there was always that possibility of someone from their class lurking in the shadows somewhere nearby, just plotting out how they were going to leak this to the rest of the class. Even if that were the case, which did very briefly cross the minds of both Arnold and Helga, the two of them had the same plan, unbeknownst to each other: deal with it later. For now, they were both going to hold on to this for as long as they could…whatever this was.

Both blonde-haired children were in awe of the other, but for different reasons. Arnold was in awe because Helga did what he wanted to but didn't have the courage to do and Helga was in awe due to Arnold actually reciprocating her embrace, thus possibly confirming the theory that Helga previously pushed away…well maybe. She wasn't ready to fully entertain that notion just yet…

'This may be nothing, but at least there is now hope!' the two blondes thought, each one unaware that the other was thinking the same thing at about the same time.

THE END

**A/N: Well that's that. I hope you enjoyed the alternate ending. Till next time peoples, this is Livyloozer signing off and hoping that you enjoyed! =)**


	5. Was it Even Real?

**A/N: You didn't think there was more did you? Well, I'm just chock full of surprises I suppose! Don't worry. This is not like ****_The Never Ending Story_****! This story does in fact have an ending and it starts…now! **

**Right after this message though…"HEY ARNOLD!" DOES NOT BELONG TO ME. THE SHOW INSPIRED ME TO WRITE THIS STORY. NOTHING MORE.**

Chapter 5: Was it Even Real?

"Huh? What happened?" Helga asked herself as she suddenly sat up. She looked all around and after taking in her surroundings she realized that she was still in her own room.

'Did I not even leave my room? Did none of that even happen? Then how…' After a few moments of trying to piece together and separate reality from illusion, Helga finally realized what happened as soon as she looked down and noticed that her Arnold locket was in one of her hands and her current pink book was still on her bed and left open to the page of her most recent creation.

"Oh yeah," She thought out loud to herself a little glumly. "After I wrote my new poem, I got in the mood to pull out my locket and start yet another of my infamous Arnold monologues and I guess I must've passed out from the blissful state that today's events put me in," Helga rolled her eyes and shook her head at the realization.

"Well, I said it before and I'll say it again. I am the biggest basket case ever!" She threw her hands in the air in light exasperation. Helga then quickly had another realization.

"So wait…that means that…all of that…hugging…in front of my stoop…never happened. I must've just dreamt it,"

…

'Wh—what was that all about? Huh…I guess I was daydreaming again,' Arnold absentmindedly rubbed his head as sat up on his bed.

'So wait, I never left to go talk to Helga and she did not actually hug me? So I imagined the whole thing?' Arnold continued to rub his head while shaking it at that realization.

'Wow, the crazy things that come into my mind! Yeah, I wish that was real but it can't be. I seriously do not think Helga cares about me that way and I still don't know if I even…' Arnold was shaking his head again.

'Well, maybe I can forget about what I'm feeling for now…well whatever it is I'm feeling. I can do that while I still try to sort things out. And in the meantime, whatever is going on in my head, I'll continue to hold on to hope, right?' Arnold gave a slight nod, both in agreement to his own plan and as an answer to that question he made for himself.

'Okay, now that that's settled, I better get started on my homework,' Arnold thought as he got up from his bed and walked towards his desk.

…..

Helga gave a sad sigh in response to the fact she previously made and then shook her head once more, but this time it was to get herself out of those sad thoughts.

"Now, hold on a minute. As much as I want that to be a reality, it just can't. I won't suddenly find him right in front of my stoop because he doesn't feel that way about me so even if I tried anything it would just turn out badly. So why am I so upset about something that didn't even happen and probably won't even happen? I have nothing to be sad about really," Helga finished that though out loud, though as soon as she did she knew that that last part wasn't entirely accurate.

"Okay, okay. That's not completely true," She let out another sad sigh.

"I wish that was real but I know it can't be because Arnold will never love me since I've been giving him every reason not to. Besides, he didn't help me for any special reason in particular. That's just his helpful nature. He'd do the same for anyone else and I know it, so why must I do this to myself?" She asked herself a question she already knew the answer to.

"But still," She conceded, "just like the end of my dream, I can't ever lose hope because hope is the only thing I have to hold on to," Helga ended that thought with a sad smile.

Then as inspiration suddenly swept through her once more, Helga grabbed her pink book and pen and began to write more Arnold poetry.

THE END

**A/N: I guess that was a little cruel but I think it ends on a more hopeful note than the way I ended it at chapter 3! Honestly I mainly ended the story this way just to keep this all in canon. With that said though, if you liked the alternate ending better and want to imagine the story ending like that, you go right ahead. It's not like I have control over that anyways! Or…if you prefer to use the original ending because for some reason you want Arnold to feel bad, maybe because you're crazy (just kidding! :P), then you can go ahead and do that! **

**This is officially the end of this little fanfic. It went a little longer than I planned but still short in my opinion compared to other fanfics I have read. My next project is in the works and it will be even shorter. It's a one-shot. I won't divulge any more information so just stay tuned! **

**I hope you enjoyed reading this little story I came up with, despite the roller coaster of emotions it probably must have sent you through! **

**Till next time peoples!**

**-Livyloozer**


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